Pterodactyl has a database resource limit bypass via race condition in Client API

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS 4.0

2.3 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2026-35202: 0.21% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 11.54 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary The Pterodactyl Client API has a logic flaw that lets users bypass their assigned limits for database allocations. This happens because the database locking mechanism used in the controllers is totally broken and doesn't actually lock anything. Details Inside DatabaseController.php, the code tries to prevent multiple databases from being created at once by calling $server-databases()-lockForUpdate(). In Laravel, this just configures a query builder but never actually sends a command to the database because it’s missing a terminal method like count() or get(). It’s basically a no-op that does nothing. Since there’s no real lock, multiple requests hitting the endpoint at the exact same time will all see that the database count is under the limit. They all move forward to the DeployServerDatabaseService and successfully create extra resources on the physical host. Impact Users are able to create more databases than they are supposed to, potentially also breaking the web interface.

Published by the source

26 May 2026, 19:30 UTC

Last modified by the source

9 Jun 2026, 11:00 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 14:48 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-fgmm-w5cx-vrfw

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-35202

Advisory: Pterodactyl has a database resource limit bypass via race condition in Client API
IDs: CVE-2026-35202, GHSA-fgmm-w5cx-vrfw
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-35202 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:48 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Low (CVSS 2.3)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: pterodactyl/panel 1.12.3. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Packagist pterodactyl/panel: affected < 1.12.3; fixed in 1.12.3

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Packagist pterodactyl/panel: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on pterodactyl/panel.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-fgmm-w5cx-vrfw (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-fgmm-w5cx-vrfw lists affected ranges: Packagist pterodactyl/panel >=0 <1.12.3)

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